Kauai, Hawaii
October, 2008
» kauai
Kauai is a beautiful but deadly island. Many of the beaches warn of strong currents, and in fact, four people died while we were there; two were swept off the cliffs by a wave at Queens Bath, one was swept out by currents on Hanakapi'ai Beach, and the last drowned while snorkeling at Tunnels Beach. This is not typical though, so don't freak out, and while you are on the land there is nothing you really nead to worry about, no bears or poisonous snakes. For the most part, the only wildlife is what has been introduced by humans: pigs, chickens, and goats.
Information on any of the hikes/sights shown on this page can be found in the ubiquitous Kauai travel guide: The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed
.
Kauai is a beautiful but deadly island. Many of the beaches warn of strong currents, and in fact, four people died while we were there; two were swept off the cliffs by a wave at Queens Bath, one was swept out by currents on Hanakapi'ai Beach, and the last drowned while snorkeling at Tunnels Beach. This is not typical though, so don't freak out, and while you are on the land there is nothing you really nead to worry about, no bears or poisonous snakes. For the most part, the only wildlife is what has been introduced by humans: pigs, chickens, and goats.
Information on any of the hikes/sights shown on this page can be found in the ubiquitous Kauai travel guide: The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed
.
Waipo'o Falls dropping 800 feet into Waimea Canyon.
Kalalau Valley from the Kalalau Lookout.
Megan trying to eclipse the sun, Shipwreck Beach.
The winding Waimea Canyon Road.
The view from Shipwreck Beach.
Pu'u Hinahina Lookout, Waimea Canyon.
Waimea Canyon.
This tall grass (sugarcane) is a beautiful bright green and very common on the island. This photo was shot from hundreds of feet above the ocean on Waimea Canyon Road.
Spouting Horn at sunset.
Kilauea Lighthouse.
Hanalei Valley Lookout.
Wailua Falls.
Me on Honopu Ridge (Photo by Megan).
Looking down on Honopu Valley.
Above the trees, Honopu Ridge.
The amazing Na Pali Coast.
Honopu Valley.
Ke'e Beach and the start of the Kalalau Trail from above (Photo by Megan).
Waikoko Beach and Highway 560.
Green mountains.
Tiered waterfalls from above (Photos by Megan).
» ke'e and tunnels beach
Feeding fish, Tunnels Beach.
Tunnels Beach.
Sunset along the Na Pali cliffs as seen from Ke'e Beach.
Various reef fish.
After sunset, Ke'e Beach.
More reef fish.
Tunnels Beach.
Almost gone.
You talkin' to me?
» kalalau trail, na pali cliffs
The Kalalau Trail is the most well known trail on Kauai, it is the only trail that goes along the coast after the road dead ends into the Na Pali cliffs. You can hike the first two miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach and then up a valley to a waterfall. Or, if you have a permit, you can keep hiking along the coast for up to 11 miles. We did not have gear for camping overnight so we just hiked 5 miles in and then back out as a day hike. The vegetation is interesting and unlike some of the other trails we did that spent a lot of time in the woods, you pretty much always had a great view of the cliffs or ocean on this trail.
If it is raining, this trail can be a slippery muddy mess but it was quite dry for us. Nothing too noteworthy happened on the hike but we did see a few mountain goats chomping up the vegetation which was cool. Megan had a bit of a different recollection of it:
The Kalalau Trail is the most well known trail on Kauai, it is the only trail that goes along the coast after the road dead ends into the Na Pali cliffs. You can hike the first two miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach and then up a valley to a waterfall. Or, if you have a permit, you can keep hiking along the coast for up to 11 miles. We did not have gear for camping overnight so we just hiked 5 miles in and then back out as a day hike. The vegetation is interesting and unlike some of the other trails we did that spent a lot of time in the woods, you pretty much always had a great view of the cliffs or ocean on this trail.
If it is raining, this trail can be a slippery muddy mess but it was quite dry for us. Nothing too noteworthy happened on the hike but we did see a few mountain goats chomping up the vegetation which was cool. Megan had a bit of a different recollection of it:
After the pig incident in Waimea Canyon (see day 2) I was a little wary of wildlife.
My fear heightened when we ran into a backpacker who said a herd of goats was just around the bend.
My chest tightened-Lars assured me that goats were safe but hasn't he ever heard of blood-sucking
goats...the infamous CHUPICABRA? Perhaps they have migrated to Hawaii. Hell, I would if I was a goat.
Well, we did come upon the herd and there were two big goats with horns along with a couple other
non-horned beasts. I thought I saw a glimmer of death in their blood-hungry-herbivore-eyes as they
munched carefree on some palm bark. Lars kept taking pictures but I rushed him out of there-I
probably saved his life. Who knows when goats may attack.
A view of the coast from early on the trail.
Left: Looking back at the trail from about 5 miles in. Right: Sitting on a rock on the edge. Pretty good view from up there...also about a thousand foot drop straight down to the ocean.
Blue and green.
Left: Trail. Right: Hanakapi'ai Beach.
Vegetation along the trail.
A couple of the many jagged peaks of the Na Pali coast, some shots of the trail, and a goat.
Left: Distant cliffs. Right: Hanakapi'ai Beach.
» all photo reports from kauai
|
Honopu Ridge, Kauai
October 7, 2008 Hiking the rugged Honopu Ridge Trail above the Na Pali Cliffs in Kokee State Park. |
» all photo reports from hawaii
Maui, Hawaii
October 14 - 22, 2008 Enjoying the amazing island of Maui, with all of it's crazy roads. |
Kauai, Hawaii
October 6 - 14, 2008 Enjoying the amazing island of Kauai, from Waimea Canyon, to Poipu, to the Kalalau Trail. |
Copyright 1995- Lars Jensen | randomspace@umich.edu |